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"Also, so many of the memes are about weirdly particular things," she adds. She gives the 'you can beat me up but my dad will sue' starter pack as an example. Other examples are the 'franchises going through an edgy phase’ or the 'old computer science professor' starter packs.
"The joke is on the meme maker as much as their subject," Kiberd explains, "because who on earth would bother to create a guide to something like this? At its best, this meme really celebrates internet culture’s ability to find universal humor in the highly particular."
We also asked Roisin to share some of her favorite starter pack memes. As the creative writing teacher at the University of Galway, she says the Math Professor starter pack is the most relatable to her.
"This meme is completely demented. It includes pictures of Dr. Emmett from Back to the Future, and that guy from Dune with the overgrown eyebrows."
"This imaginary math professor drives a twenty-year-old Volvo and wears Birkenstocks to casual Friday," Roisin describes the meme. "My favorite detail is that he ‘skips several critical steps because you should know this by now’."
Roisin says she's far more friendly than the professor in the meme, "but can only aspire to his collection of tweed jackets, and the blind terror he strikes into his students' hearts."
If you want more insights from Roisin Kiberd, check her out on X. She writes about technology and the internet culture regularly. And for a longer read, don't forget to check out her book The Disconnect: A Personal Journey Through the Internet.
